September
13, Sunday, 10:30 am. KAM Isaiah Israel Hyde Park Forum
and Panel on the Olympics. A panel discussion moderated by Ben Bradley of
WLS-7 with panelists Tom Tresser of No Games Chicago, Fran Vandervoort of
Jackson Park Advisory Council and Alderman Toni Preckwinkle (4th) and Manny
Flores (1) with Jack Spicer and Grahm Balkany representing preservation interests.
Chicago 2016 had not responded to its invitation as of publication of this
annnouncement but usually participates. Presented by Congregation K.A.M.
Isaiah Israel, 1100 E. Hyde Park Blvd. (Advised: bringing a photo ID for outside,
as the proximity of Pres. Obama's residency is patrolled. Also, Greenwood
is southbound only to the parking lot.)

A
Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) Ordinance and Memorandum between the city
and Chicago 2016 was drafted in May 2008 and eventually introduced formally
in January-February 2009 by 5 alderman, nominally backed by 22 more, and remanded
to the Finance Committee. After several compromises (and too late to be passed
by the whole Council before the April 2-7 IOC visit), 2016 signed on and the
Ordinance was unanimously reported out March 29 and passed City Council April
22 as part of the Finance Committee report. A recent complication is efforts
to protect the 8 Gropius buildings of Michael Reese (interior demolition is
already under way and demo permits will be issued when the city takes over in
July.) Details on the Gropius buildings controversy are in the Southside
Preservation Action Fund page. Main features (details not all publicized)
include:

30%
minority or disabled (the latter may be a first) and 10% women contractors-
bumped up 5% each at the last minute despite state and 2016 commitment and
normal city commitment on these kinds of projects to the lesser amounts and
2016 being a private entity
• Jobs also appear to have the same standard, with a scorecard to be
worked out for this and the above involving distance, pre training, apprenticeships
(this at least 10%). In its construction of venues and the Olympic Village
itself, the Olympic bid committee will try to insure that apprentices provide
10 percent of all construction hours worked. There will also be regional boundaries
for local hiring preferences at the Olympic Venues, which are a one mile radius
around the Olympic Village, the Olympic Stadium, the velodrome in Douglas
Park and the aquatic facility in Washington Park. The city and Olympic Committee
will also work to create job training and business development to prepare
people and small businesses
• 20% at least affordable housing with commitment to try to make 30%,
in the Olympic Village. No reference to other private or public projects within
radii around both the village and the Washington Park projects, as had been
proposed by CEO, SOUL and other groups
• Displacement- substitution of "development of a principle of
no direct displacement of any resident of the city as a result of the 2016
games" rather than original language for adequate market-rate compensation
(indirect is apparently not covered and neither direct nor indirect displacement
are at least yet defined)
• Transportation. Gold Line Metra South Chicago upgrade was dropped
as being inappropriate to try to bind other governmental agencies. There have
been varying reports as to whether and what transportation and access upgrades
(such as el stops and stations or trolleys) or adequacy is promised. Apparently,
plans to upgrade or place underground 55th/Morgan Dr. have been dropped--
it will just be closed off.
• No commitment to schools, open space or parks.
• No commitment to have TIF advisory councils or open process, although
2016 has recently expanded its communities committee from a handful to about
80 and promises lots of meetings. Ald. Burke asserts there will be lots of
revisits to the ordinance.

Many are pleased,
others consider the ordinance a sham or incomplete and providing little other
than modest employment and business opportunity for areas south of about 39th
St.

A major argument
now is the extent is a binding contract, and between whom, the city saying it
is not a direct party and 2016 is saying what it will do when contracting with
builders, assuming we get teh bid and the IOC accepts the Memorandum as part
of the Olympic contract.

Some
groups may protest diminutions, failure to pass City Council before the IOC
visit, but Ald. Preckwinkle told the Tribune the latter was not a problem due
to 2016 public agreement. A joint protest is planned by various group April
2, 5 pm at Federal Plaza, 50 W. Adams.

See
in the main Olympics page coverage
on the Benefits Agreement and financial and other arrangements that appear to
restore a path for Chicago's selection.

Coverage
and commentary

The City Council Committee
on Finance passed rules guiding Olympics-related spending, a memorandum of
understanding, March 27 after a last minute deal boosted minority and women
business participation.

Sponsors
of the ordinance introduced by Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th) delayed the start
of the committee meeting by almost an hour in a final bid to increase minimum
levels of participation by women- and minority-owned businesses. The ordinance
would require a minimum of 30 percent participation by minority- or disabled-owned
firms and 10 percent participation by women-owned firms. The last
minute 5 percent bump one-ups an Illinois Senate bill sent to Governor Pat
Quinn the same day calling for 25 percent minority and 5 percent
women participation. The city normally requires 25 percent minority-0owned
business participation and 5 percent women-owned business participation.

If Chicago wins its bid
for the 2016 Olympics, contractors will be hired based on a scorecard
system that will take into account "hiring and sub-contracting within
each represented racial and ethnic minority group," hiring graduates
from training programs, hiring local workers and other parameters, according
to the ordinance. Lori Healy, president of Chicago 2016, said the weighting
of each category had not yet been determined.

"Chicago 2016 under
your leadership has put their money where their mouth is," Ald. Leslie
Hairston (5th) told Healy at the hearing.

The amended ordinance
approve unanimously Friday by the Committee on Finance retains a minimum
of 20 percent affordable units at the planned Olympic Village housing complex
with a goal of increasing that number to 30 percent.

Not included
were improvements to the Metra South Chicago Branch train line and mandatory
advisory councils to oversee the use of tax increment financing funds. New
rules also require "the development of a principle of no direct displacement
of any resident in the city as a result of the 2016 Games." The
original ordinance called for adequate market-rate compensation for anyone
displaced due to the Games. The ordinance does not define direct or indirect
displacement.

"Knowing there were
27 points that were important to us; today 16 of those 26 have been made possible,"
said Cecilia Butler, president of the Washington Park Advisory Council and
a member of the Chicago 2016 board. Butler said she would be opposed to the
process under normal circumstances, but Chicago 2016 and aldermen have been
inclusive and open to community concerns during the drafting of the ordinance.

Ald. Ed Burke (14th),
chair of the committee, said there would be plenty of opportunities to review
the standards set by the city. "This is only the first bite of the apple,"
Burke said. "They'll be back for a redevelopment agreement, they'll be
back for zoning -- we've go plenty of more bites of the apple." The ordinance
still has to be approved by the full City Council. The next City Council meeting
is Wednesday, April 22.

Arnold Randall, the new
director of neighborhood legacies for Chicago 2016, said the lasting imprint
of the Olympics would be determined through "an intensive open process"
to included plenty of community input. Speaking Monday, March 9, at a meeting
of the 53rd Street Tax-Imcrement Financing (TIF) Advisory Council, Randall
gave an overview of th e Olympic bid submitted tot eh International Olympic
Committee last month.

Venue plans published
in the bid raised questions about exactly how the games would affect Jackson
Park, where field hockey [soccer?] is planned, and Washington Park, to be
the home of swimming, diving, and tack and field events. Randall said that
if Chicago is chosen to host the games -- a decision slated for October --
open meetings will be held in Washington Park , Douglas Park and on the North
Sided to allow the community to fully vet the details.

Maps in the bid book
appear to show that 55th Street will no longer cut through Washington Park,
adn Hyde Park resident Robin Kaufman asked Randall if that is the case. Access
to the route would be restricted during the games, but it would be restored
when the games are over, he said.

randall also fielded
several questions about whether the games would bring improvements to public
transportation. While Hyde Park would not get a new train line, federal dollars
would be used for significant transit improvements, he said. Parking would
be limited near games venues and bicycle use would be encouraged.

Randall, a Woodlawn resident
and former commissioner of the city's Department of Planning and Development
(since merged into the new Department of Community Development), was once
a member of the council himself. He has been on the job as director of neighborhood
legacies since early February.

Alderman's Report by Toni Preckwinkle (4th): Talks pay off with community
benefits agreement. April 1, 2009

In January, Aldermen
Pat Dowell, Leslie Hairston, Willie Cochran and Bob Fioretti and myself (along
with 22 other members) introduced a community benefits agreement (CBA) ordinance
that pertained to the bid for the 2016 Olympics. The ordinance addressed affordable
housing, the involvement of minority6-and women-owned businesses, local hiring
and other issues.

The CBA ordinance that
was introduced reflected months of hard work by advocates adn aldermen alike.
A coalition of community groups entitle the Communities for an equitable Olympics
(CEO), the Washington Park Advisory Council and the Chicago Urban League all
worked diligently on the drafting of the ordinance. The document that was
finally introduced represented almost a year of research and reflection. Last
week that hard work bore fruit.

The Finance Committee
of the City Council passed an ordinance on Friday outlining the commitment
of the Chicago 2016 to community benefits. The Finance Committee blessed an
agreement signed by Lori Healey (as president), and Terry Peterson and Michael
Scott (as Outreach Committee co-chairs) of the Chicago 2016 Committee.

It should be remembered
that the Olympic bid is being made by a privately funded group of individuals
and corporations. While the city and state have provided guarantees, the obligation
for preparing the bid and conducting the Olympics, should we be chosen, belongs
to this private entity.

Given that fact, the
memorandum of agreement was an historic document. There are several elements
of the agreement which may be of particular interest to my constituents. The
Olympic committee pledged to adhere to the city's requirement of 20 percent
affordability in the reuse of the Olympic Village units and to try to achieve
a goal of 30 percent. In addition, the Olympic bid committee pledged to provide
30 percent of its contracts to minority-owned business enterprises (MBEs)
and 10 percent to women-owned business enterprises (WBEs). The city's own
standard is 25 percent and 5 percent, respectively. This is a great victory
and due in large part to the last minute advocacy of the Council Black Caucus,
particularly Alderman Isaac Carothers and Ed Smith. I am grateful to all my
colleagues who attended the Finance Committee meeting and especially to these
two men.

In its construction of
venues and the Olympic Village itself, the Olympic bid committee will try
to insure that apprentices provide 10 percent of all construction hours worked.
There will also be regional boundaries for local hiring preferences at the
Olympic Venues, which are a one mile radius around the Olympic Village, the
Olympic Stadium, the velodrome in Douglas Park and the aquatic facility in
Washington Pr,. The city and Olympic Committee will also work o create job
training and business development to prepare people and small businesses for
the many employment and economic opportunities the 2016 Olympics will offer.

My thanks to my colleagues
and advocates who made this victory possible. I am also grateful to Lori Healey
who has opened up the Olympic planning process since her arrival in January.
When she came on board, one of her first acts was to expand the Outreach Committee
from a couple dozen members to 80 people who represented community organizations
and non-profits across the city. The committee reformed itself into five subcommittees
and the work product of these groups formed the substance of the memorandum
of understanding. Again, my thanks to Healey and her staff. In rare circumstances,
things turn out better than you have any reason to hope or expect. This was
one those occasions.

The Chicag City Council
passed a memorandum of understanding on April22 that guarantees specific employment
and community benefits if Chicago wins its bid to host the 2016 Olympics.

The agreement, spearheaded
by Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th), requires a minimum of 30 percent participation
by minority- or disabled-owned firms and 10 percent participation by women-owned
firms in all Olympics-related contracts. It also includes measures to ensure
apprentices work 10 percent of construction hours. "This is historically
a way that African Americans adn Latinos can enter a work force that is not
very diverse," Preckwinkle said.

In a last minute bargaining
session April1 that delayed committee hearings on the agreement by an hour,
Preckwinkle was joined by several members of the Black Caucus of the Council
to raise participation levels for minority-, women- and disabled-owned businesses
to 30 percent from the city's standard 24 percent. Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) said
she would have had difficulty voting for the agreement if participation remained
at the city's standard. Dowell and others praised the memo's scorecard system
for hiring contractors that will ensure that all minority groups in the city
are able to bid for contracts.

The memorandum passed
unanimously on a roll call vote. "I want to thank my colleagues and Alderman
Preckwinkle because prior to her bringing this to the City Council, there
was no agreement," Ald. Isaac Carothers (29th) said.. "I want to
remind my colleagues that this is not the end of th e memorandum but the beginning."

The agreement also guarantees
20 percent affordable units at the Olympic Village housing development to
be built at the current Michael Reese Hospital site. The document says, "Chicago
2016 will work diligently to identify and pursue such additional subsidies"
to increase the portion of affordable units to 30 percent.

As aldermen praised the
guidelines, Ald. Ed smith (28th), took note of former state Senate President
Emil Jones' criticism of the document as a "sham" in the Chicago
Defender. "Where is his brain? We negotiated the best memorandum I have
seen since I've been in City Council," Smith said. "I want to give
him a kick in the pants because that's what he needs."

The memorandum was a
joint effort of aldermen, Chicago 2016 and community groups. "In the
area we come from, we have lots of memorandums ... because there is such a
distrust between people and the government," Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th)
said. "What is special about the memorandum today is that everyone was
able to come together." Top

But
is is binding? Yes and No

Herald, May 6 209.
Lawyers: Olympic memorandum flimsy. By
Sam Cholke

After the City Council
put its blessing on a memorandum of understanding between Chicago 2016 and
community groups, several organizations now wonder what recourse they have
if the promised benefits do not materialize. At the heart of the concerns
is whether the memorandum is a legally recognized contract or a formal agreement
signaling the city and Chicago 2016 are becoming more amenable to creating
a community benefits agreement that would be enforceable.

"I do think it is
binding," said Cecilia Butler, president of the Washington Park Advisory
Council and a member of the Chicago 2016 Outreach Advisory Committee. "Though
it's not ratified until the International Olympic Committee signs off on it."

When the IOC
signs a contract with the host city in October, it will decide whether to
adopt the provisions in the memorandum, said Stephen Alexander, a
professor at DePaul University who has studied the potential impact of th
Olympics at the Egan Urban Center. "I don't see how this can be legally
binding" unless the IOC takes that step, he said.

"Frankly, it is
legally binding," said Arnold Randall, director of neighborhood
legacy for Chicago 2016. The benefits outlined in the memorandum of agreement
will be included in the final contract with the IOC, he said.

Omri Ben-Shahar, a law
professor at University of Chicago who specializes in contracts and liability,
expressed discomfort about calling the memorandum a contract in its current
permutation when asked to review it by the Herald. "The bottom line is,
if you want to hear my view, I don't think it's a legally binding contract
- but that doesn't mean it has no effect at all," Ben-Shahar said. "I
see it as more of a political document that commits the signatory to a particular
position or policy that from which, if they deviate, there might be political
repercussions. "I'm pretty sure there are no effective ways to enforce
this legally," Ben-Shahar said. "This I'm saying by reading the
language in the document where they say they commit themselves to do only
to the extent feasible - this is not language you ever find in a commercial
contract. If their obligation is only to do the hardest they can or the extent
feasible, it is difficult to pinpoint and identify instances of violation
or breach."

Ben-Shahar said that
from his reading of the memorandum that Chicago 2016 has made a political
promise to include certain benefits for the community when contracting with
builders. He said Chicago 2016 could seek redress or damages if a
contract with a builder is violated, but the Outreach Advisory Committee could
not sue Chicago 2016.

Though it received the
City Council's support on April 22, the memorandum will continue to be fleshed
out before Oct. 2, according to members of Chicago 2016 and of the Outreach
Advisory Committee. "I have confidence they will make every effort to
meet this," said Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th), who spearheaded effort
to bring community groups and Chicago 2016 together to draft the memorandum
and sponsored the ordinance that brought the document before City Council.
"There is a city blessing that goes over it - it passed
the City Council as an ordinance.," she said. When asked whether the
city would be able to enforce or bring suit for violations of the agreement,
Preckwinkle referred the question to the city's Department of Law.

"The city
of Chicago was not a party to the memorandum of understanding. That
agreement was between Chicago 2016 and the community," said Jenny Hoyle,
a spokeswoman for the city's Department of Law, in an e-mail. Hoyle said the
city had reviewed the document and id not have concerns about the legally
binding nature of the document. "We saw the MOU [memorandum of understanding]
before the vote because it was attached to a City Council ordinance,"
Hoyle said. "However, we did not draft or negotiate teh MOU and did not
conduct the type of legal review that we would do if we were engaged in those
activities on behalf of a client."

"It's an agreement
ultimately between Chicago 2016 and the Outreach Committee," said Jay
Travis of the Kenwood-Oakland Community Organization "The memorandum
of understanding in City Council was an expression of support, but we're
still out to get a document we can enforce."

Mica Matsoff, a spokeswoman
for Chicago 2016, confirmed that the position of Chicago 2016 is that
the memorandum is enforceable in a court of law should any of the
terms be violated. Randall said the Outreach Advisory Committee could
bring a suit against Chicago 2016, if the terms of the memorandum
were violated. The memorandum also obligates any successor organizations
to Chicago 2016 created upon a successful bid to take up responsibility
for all benefits outlined in the memorandum.

The community has gotten
a firmer commitment from the city than expected, said Butler, who sits on
the Community Enhancements subcommittee of the advisory committee. "It's
backed by the city officials, the elected officials voted on it and approved
it, it passed the City Council, so the mayor's going home with it," Butler
said.

Washington
Park neighborhood centered group (3rd Ward 2016 Committee) asks whether the
benefits will be real for all the neighborhoods surrounding the park

The Chicago Olympic
bid has raised many questions among the residents in Bronzeville, Hyde Park
and other nearby neighborhoods. While Chicago's bid documents are posted
on the internet, it is still not clear that the people that live in the
neighborhoods will benefit by the 2016 Games.

We are concerned about
access to contracts, jobs and economic development. A community benefits
agreement ratified by the City Council in the spring formalizes goals for
minority and women contracts, training for family sustaining jobs, affordable
housing set asides and an independent monitoring board.

However, the agreement
does not take effect until the bid is won in October. In the meantime, we
are watching as preparations for the bid are well underway. The Olympic
Village is surrounded by fencing and Michael Reese Hospital's signs have
been removed. Property surrounding Washington Park is subject to increased
speculation and numerous inquiries. Furthermore, our mayor agreed to take
full financial responsibility for the Games.

Chicago 2016 underestimates
residents' experiences and knowledge of how limited economic opportunity
is in our neighborhoods. We watched our public housing residents get swept
out of neighborhoods to other neighborhoods and low-income suburbs. We travel
miles to access fresh groceries, because we have few if any full-service
stores in close proximity. Our health care needs grow, because we have few
health care services and low-income patients are diverted to public clinics
with long waiting lines. Our unemployment is high because of low quality
education, lack of job training and too few employers in our area.

The burden
is on Chicago 2016 to show residents of the neighborhoods that will house
the Olympic venues -- will life there be better in 2017 than today?
New sporting facilities for are neighborhoods are not enough. Will our children
be safer and have more opportunities in 2017? Will we have better jobs,
21st century infrastructure improvements, more retail options and new businesses
located in our area than we have today? Will the quality of life improve
because of he Olympics?

As Chicago 2016 begins
its 50 ward tour, it will hear some tough questions. The 3rd, 4th and 20th
wards will have its community meeting at the Chicago Urban League on August
11 at 6 p.m. We look forward to having some complete, honest and real answers.

Shelley A. Davis, Chairman,
3rd Ward 2016 Committee.

[There is a question
beyond that-- if the answer is no, or Olympics can only do so much, then
-- providing the Olympics won't impoverish the city and divert vital services--
is it still worth doing anyway?]

Community
benefits agreements espec. for the Village (Michael Reese) area were introduced
by 5 aldermen- Preckwinkle, Cochran, Dowell, Hairston, and Jackson. The aldermen
sought to get the document reported out for action ahead of the April 2 2009
arrival of the International Olympic Committee, although the introduction was
very late. Incentive
to 2016 was to give Chicago something to match the cachets of other bidders
and Olympics cities, including green and social sustainability and strong transportation.
The three main components of the proposed CBA were 1) 30 percent real
affordable housing for the structures after the Village is done, Readiness and
training for sustainable jobs (10% apprenticeships) plus 50% MWBE, the Metra
Gold Line including a Bronzeville stop plus other transportation enhancements.
At a meeting March 7 2009, Ald. Dowell and Preckwinkle promised to work earnestly
to pass the Ordinance and apply the principles wherever there is public contribution
or leverage.

Olympics Community Benefit
Ordinance
Chicago 2016 At January's City Council Meeting, Aldermen Preckwinkle, Fioretti,
Hairston, Cochran, and Dowell introduced an ordinance that would protect the
interests of communities that could be affected by the 2016 Olympics. The
focus is to increase public participation, development of affordable housing
from the Olympic Village, adequate notice and compensation for anyone who
is displaced due to the construction of Olympic sites, utilization of minority
and female owned businesses, subsidy accountability, allocation of workforce
development programs, eligibility for tax credits, low interest loans, and
grants for businesses leasing space in the Olympic Village who pay their employees
a living wage, and utilization of mass transit which will result in massive
improvements to CTA trains and buses. To see the draft text of this ordinance,
visit www.chicityclerk.com/legislation/sublegmatters/2009/jan13/04PRECK_PO2009_235.pdf

The
City of Chicago ("City" is considering purchasing an approximately
37-acres site from MRL Acquisition, LLC located at 2929 South Ellis Avenue,
generally bounded by E. 26th Street on the north, S. Vernon Avenue on the west,
E. 31st Street on the south, and the CN/Metra rail tracks on the east (the "Property").
Redevelopment of the property, currently occupied by Michael Reese Hospital,
will revitalized the immediate community areas, including but not limited to
the Near South, Douglas, Oakland, Grand Boulevard, Washington Park and North
Kenwood, by providing new residential and commercial development and additional
permanent public improvements that will improve the quality of life for area
residents. The City will directly benefit from the redevelopment through increased
revenues derived from the real estate and sales tax revenues attributable to
the new residents and businesses locating to the Property.

If
the City acquires the Property, the City of Chicago will establish and administer
a public benefits program ("Program") consistent with the terms of
this summary for the purpose of mitigating adverse community impacts of the
redevelopment and linking the economic well-being of neighborhood residents
to the benefits of such revitalization.

This
Program shall commence if and when the City acquires the Property and shall
govern the Property's development, whether by the City or a private developer,
from the date of such acquisition through the expiration of he new tax increment
redevelopment project area ("TIF Area") that the City anticipates
establishing with respect to the Property. All construction contracts related
to the development of the site shall include the objectives of the Program listed
below.

The
Program will seek to achieve six goals:

(1)
develop affordable housing in order to retain resident population in the area;

(2)
hire City residents, minorities and women in connection with the construction
projects undertaken at the Property, and utilize such firms for the purchase
of services and supplies for such construction projects, tracking such employment
and use of vendors through minimum City resident hiring, and MBE/WBE participation
requirements;

(3)
maintain a registry of qualified City-based and minority and women trades and
apprentices and place such persons in positions throughout the life of the TIF
Area in connection with the projects undertaken therein;

(4)
actively solicit both the participation of new minority and women-owned businesses
both in the ownership structure of the master developer of the Property and
as tenants in the commercial retail space developed on the Property;

(5)
manage site related traffic during and after construction projects and, if the
City is awarded the 2016 games, during the Olympic and Paralympic Games to insure
that residents have continuous egress to and from their homes and that customers
of businesses have continuous access to such businesses; and,

(6)
an independent third party shall work in connection with the City's monitoring
staff to monitor and report on the City's (and private developers') compliance
with the Program goals and objectives.

The
goals specified above shall be subject to the following specific objectives:

1.
Affordable Housing: Of the residential units developed on the
Property, not less than twenty percent (20%) shall consist of affordable housing,
as defined under the City's Affordable Requirements Ordinance, Municipal Code
2-44-090 (i.e. with respect to rental housing, housing that is affordable to
households earning up to 60% of the Chicago AMI, and with respect to "for
sale" housing that is affordable to households earning up to 100% of Chicago
AMI). Such objective may be met by the development of projects that individually
satisfy such affordable component, or by some projects that are all or predominantly
affordable and other projects that are all or predominantly market rate, which,
taken together satisfy such 20% affordable housing standard. Affordable rental
units shall generally be subject to a 40 year rental period or such period as
may be required or appropriate based on the funding sources for such affordable
units. For sale units shall generally be subject to deed restrictions administered
by the Chicago Community Land Trust that shall run with such units for at least
40 years to assure the long-term, multiple-owner affordability of such units.
Such twenty percent (20%) affordability requirement shall apply even if no City
financial assistance is received for an individual project.

2.
Worker Hiring: In connection with the construction of projects
on the Property, each developer shall (a) contract (or cause its general contractor
to contract) with minority-owned businesses ("MBEs") and women-owned
businesses ("WBEs"), and shall meet or exceed the City's standard
allocation requirement of 25% for MBEs and 5% for WBEs, (b) shall establish
a target market contract program setting aside certain contracts solely for
MBE/WBE subcontractors and supplier participation, and (c) shall cause at least
fifty percent (50%) of the construction hours on such projects to be worked
by City residents. The City-resident hiring requirement shall be monitored on
a monthly basis and not less than thirty (30) percent of all construction worker
hours each month shall be filled by City residents, it being the intent that
the City-resident hiring objective be met through actual employment and not
by payment of the City's standard liquidated damages penalty. Failure to meet
such minimum monthly hiring requirement for three (3) consecutive months, or
any six (6) months in a twelve (12) month period shall subject the defaulting
developer to additional City remedies. A First Source Hiring system will be
instituted to identify, track and hire such residents, as well as create a transparent
process for employment. This on site resource center wil also provide information
for unions operating in each possible industry.

3
Apprentice Sponsorships: For all work in the building trades
generated by construction projects, no fewer than 10% of worker hours shall
be filled by apprentices. The City and developers shall work with established
programs such as that run by Dawson Technical Institute at Kennedy King College,
as well as similar apprenticeship programs administered by the Chicago Public
Schools, to identify and train apprentices, and to hire graduates from such
programs.

4.
MBE/WBE Ownership and Tenant Participation: In connection with
the City's selection of any master developer for the Property, the City shall
include as part of any request for qualifications or request for proposals a
requirement that the respondent include, a pat of its development team, one
or more MBE/WBE partners. The scoring of such proposals shall positively weight
the degree of participation by such MBE/WBE partner(s), provided such participation
includes actual equity ownership, direct sharing in the economic rewards (and
risks) of such equity ownership and involvement in major decisions of the joint
venture entity. In connection with the development and leasing of commercial
and retail space on the Property, the Chicago Urban League shall actively recruit
and present to developers qualified prospective MBE/WBE businesses to lease
such space. Subject to customary underwriting criteria of lenders providing
construction or permanent financing for such commercial and retail space, such
MBE/WBE businesses shall be given a right of first offer with respect to such
space.

5.
Transportation Improvements: The City Department of Transportation
will coordinate traffic and transportation planning for the purposes of congestion
mitigation and strengthening work-related commutes to area job centers. If and
when transit-0riented development should occur, the City will include the objectives
set forth in Paragraphs 1-4 above for both the construction work and retail/commercial
components of such transit-oriented development.

6.
Monitoring: The Chicago Urban League, The Target Group or a
similar entity with affirmative action and employment monitoring experience
shall prepare quarterly reports on the City's and private developers' compliance
with the objectives set forth herein.

If
a developer defaults in meeting the Program objectives specified above, such
developer may be subject to the City's customary remedies, including, without
limitation, termination of the applicable contract and any penalty amounts.
In addition, such developer (and its affiliates) may be barred from obtaining
further City financial assistance (whether through a direct subsidy or through
an indirect subsidy, such as a fee waiver or allocation of tax credits). Top

Negotiating for Neighborhoods: Interventions in Olympic
Impact in Sydney and Vancouver

From
Chicago Rehab Network,
2008. Photo not included: The 2000 Olympic Village in Sydney, constructed with
environments concerns in mind, built on the city's concept of hosting the first
"Green Olympics."

Sydney
and Vancouver, hosts of the 2000 Summer Games and the 2010 Winter games, respectively,
both established organizations to monitor the social impacts of the Olympics.
For citizens and advocates, both provide models for overseeing Olympics-driven
development, and offer perspective on possibilities for equitable outcomes for
the Games and residents. The two groups, though similar in aim, differed greatly
in scope, composition, and organization. Despite the differences outlined below,
groups both in Sydney and Vancouver established agreements to benefit neighborhoods
and learned from the difficulty [ies of?] compliance with existing or agreed
upon goals.

Additionally,
a new international Olympic Committee initiative called the Olympic
Games Impact (OGI) will change the climate of impact analysis and mitigation
by formalizing the procedure. Created in 2003, OGI requires host cities to report
on 125 impact indicators for a twelve year span before, during and after the
Games. Beijing 2008 will be the first Games to provide a formal postGames
analysis, and Vancouver will be the first host to undertake full OGI requirements,
the first of which will be due shortly. While OGI will force hosts to consider
impacts more fully, the test of its efficacy will have to wait until the release
of its first reports.

Sydney
and the Social Impact Advisory Committee (SIAC)

The
2000 Sydney Games promised a new look at Olympic hosting as the first Games
of the 21st century. In some ways, they achieved a new approach, building venues
on abandoned, government-owned land, including green features in their building,
and prioritizing treatment of minorities and homeless in the city's plan for
managing the Olympics' impact. As one of the first hosts to focus on impacts,
Sydney may have some claim to its reputation as the first "Green Games"
as well as then-OIC President Juan Antonio Samaranch's famous line in which
he called the 2000 Games "The Best Olympics Ever."

So
what did the best Olympics ever look like? After Sydney secured the bid to host
the Games, the government of New South Wales commissioned a Social Impact Assessment,
which made 37 diverse recommendations on mitigating social impact, including
the establishment of a committee to monitor and advise on those impacts. Thus,
the Social Impact Advisory Committee was born.

SIAC
maintained a diverse composition, including members of Sydney's advocacy community,
members of SOCOG, -- the Sydney Organizing Committee for Olympic Games -- and
members of city and provincial government. The committee met twice yearly from
1994 until the games were over, making recommendations and discussing progress
on Olympic development.

The
influence of the SIAC eventually led to the establishment of the Homeless Protocol,
a guideline for police interaction to ensure that the homeless residents fo
Sydney were treated equitably. The Protocol remains a positive legacy that is
still in use today in Sydney. This protocol affirmed the right of all citizens
to enjoy Sydney's public spaces, and prevented harassment of the homeless by
police, an occurrence common during previous Olympics.

Still,
the SIAC suffered from problems that plague many monitoring organizations, that
they garner advisory power but have little in the way of leverage or
mandate for actual change. Rev. Harry Herbert, the chair of the SIAC,
expressed this frustration, saying, "It seems to be a case of government
saying the biggest measures are too dangerous and the smallest aren't worth
doing!" Pointedly, the government's lack of action and plan for homelessness,
and SRO housing topped Herbert's list of concerns.

The
Games monitoring environment in Sydney experienced fluctuation, as a splinter
group formed just before the Games began to call attention to the lack of progress
the organizing committee had made in securing positive social impacts. Rating
the positive impacts at a 5 out of 10, the Council of Social Services of New
South Wales adn its Olympic Impact Committee (OIC) arm criticized the organizers
and government for "[failing] to stop the loss of low cost accommodation,"
and further, that "other figures [that showed] big rent increases in the
Olympic Corridor, contradict the Government's claim of no Olympics-related rent
effects."

Vancouver
and the Impact on Communities Coalition (IOCC)

The Vancouver
Olympics have garnered a great deal of attention for their emphasis on sustainability
and commitment to host a Games that does little to displace community members.
Crucial to this reputation was the Impact on Communities Coalition (IOCC), which
drafted 22 recommendations for positive social impact that Vancouver's bid committee
eventually included in the guarantees section of their final "bid book."

The IOCC differentiated
itself from the SIAC right from the beginning in a number of key ways. IOCC
was formed before the bid, and thus was able to advance some of its concerns
and create a direction in the bid itself, rather than simply reacting to development.
Also, the IOCC is a member organization with on ties to the Olympic organizing
committee, VANOC, or the bid committee. The IOCC has also benefited organizationally
from its unity of message -- perhaps owing to a somewhat more homogenous group
of members -0- focusing throughout its seven year history on the seven
areas of environment, security and safety, community and economic development,
civil rights, housing, transportation, adn accountability and transparency.

The IOCC has
commissioned several academic works that aim to tease out potential
impacts from the Games, while also conducting public opinion and market
research. While much of IOCC's work has focused on research on those seven issues,
community participation bolsters their resume as well; they wil host as community
forum on each of their seven platform issues by the time the Games begin in
February of 2010.

Vancouver's
non-sport legacy focuses on a tract of abandoned shipping and industrial
land called Southeast False Creek (SEFC), which will host the Olympic village
during the Games and be converted to a mixed-income, mixed-use development after
the Games. The SEFC project forms the centerpiece of an agreement between advocates
and VANOC called the Inner-City Inclusive (ICI) agreement. The ICI
broadly states VANOC's intent to prioritize inner-city redevelopment
for the 2010 Games legacy. In addition to that agreement, advocates
and the SEFC developer have signed a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA), guaranteeing
first-source hiring, job-training programs, and affordable housing.

And while
the SEFC project appeared to provide wide and deep benefits to the community,
developers have already scaled back the affordability commitments of the housing
units. Millennium Water, as the housing development will be known after the
Games, will sell condo units from $450,000 to $6,000,000, quite unaffordable
for many residents.

Next
steps for Chicago Olympics Impact

How will our
city, known for a rich tradition of community development and organizing, demonstrate
the best monitoring and advancement of what are serious social impact concerns.
Will the bid establish and independent committee pulled from all of Chicago's
diverse communities and expertise? Will the committee have the ability and [be
able to] keep the Olympics development process transparent[?]

Chicago Coalition for
the Homeless cites Geneva report to say Olympics do impact affordable housing,
homeless people and housing rights

Chicago Coalition for the
Homeless, Fall, 2008, based on "Fair Play for Housing Rights: Mega-Events,
Olympic Games and Housing Rights" by Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions,
Geneva Switzerland

As Chicago waits to hear
whether our city will be chosen to host the 2016 Olympics, it is important for
housing advocates to be aware of how housing rights have been impacted in other
Olympic host cities around the globe. While the Olympics are an opportunity
to showcase a city to the world, the development that comes with hosting the
games can often have very negative consequences, particularly for poor and marginalized
people. Looking at the past 20 years of experiences of Olympic host cities,
what is revealed are some rather devastating impacts on housing rights. In fact,
all cities that have hosted the Olympic Games suffer similar negative consequences.
The following information looks at experience of the following Olympic host
cities:

Hosting a major international
event causes a certain fervor in Olympic host cities that often overrides the
needs and input of local communities. Studies of the experiences of these cities
have revealed some common experiences, including:

A need to inspire community
support that makes opposition appear "unpatriotic"

A "state of exception"
mentality in which the community tolerates lower standards of fair process,
greater restrictions of rights, and doing whatever is necessary to make vast
changes quickly in order to host the Olympics

A disproportionate effect
on marginalized and vulnerable groups

The initiation of gentrification
and redevelopment which can lead to a massive displacement of low-income individuals
and families

Attraction of large
amounts of capital and massive infrastructure improvements

Key Housing impacts in
Olympic Host Cities:

Displacement
and forced evictions of communities to make way for construction of Olympics-related
infrastructure or related to gentrification.In Seoul
in the five years before the Olympics, 48,000 buildings that housed 720,000
people were demolished for redevelopment. Ninety percent of the people evicted
did not receive replacement housing within the redevelopment site. The use
of violence was common in these evictions as developers hired private security
companies to forcibly remove people from their homes. Violent acts included
demolishing homes and setting fires close to where people were still living,
as well as sexual and physical assaults of protesting tenants.
In Beijing since 2000, as many as 1.5 million people have been evicted to
make way for Olympic stadiums and new infrastructure. While many are compensated
adequately, an estimated 20 percent have ended up in worse conditions, far
from jobs and needed services. Many evictions were violent. In the Hujialou
neighborhood where residents resisted, a demolition-relocation company tried
to force the resident to leave by making their homes uninhabitable --removing
windows and safety doors, breaking down walls, cutting off heat and electricity,
scattering debris and even defecating in entryways.
It should be noted that gentrification and redevelopment due to the Olympics
are not just byproducts of hosting the event, but in many cases a motivating
factor in bringing the Olympics to a city. For example, Atlanta's bid to host
the Olympic /Games was spearheaded by a commercial real estate lawyer, Billy
Payne, and supported by business groups. Payne and these groups wanted to
control development in the city and drive poor communities from the center
of the city.

Escalation of
housing costs.Rents
in Barcelona increased by 145 percent between 1986 and 1993 due to redevelopment
for the 1992 Olympics. In Seoul, as residents were evicted from their homes,
thousands of people sought alternative low-cost housing in the surrounding
areas. This huge increase in demand drove up housing costs fivefold in some
areas.

Reduction in
the availability of low-cost or public housing.I Atlanta,
a public housing development called Techwood Clark Howell was redeveloped
with a net loss of 800 public housing units. Over 3,330 people total, were
evicted with only 44 percent receiving relocation assistance. In total, more
than 2,000 units of public housing were lost during Olympic development in
Atlanta and 5,813 residents were displaced. In Barcelona, the number of new
public housing units created fell from 2,647 in 1986 to just 9 in 1992.

"Cleansing"
operations to remove homeless people from visible locations and criminalization
of homelessness. In
Atlanta, a local nonprofit received thousands of dollars in local government
grants to purchase one-way bus tickets to send homeless people to Alabama
and Florida. Atlanta also passed a series of laws called Quality of Life Ordinances
the year after it won the Olympic bid. These laws criminalized sleeping in
abandoned buildings, begging and walking through parking lots if one did not
own a car. These new laws resulted in 9,000 arrest citations issued to homeless
people in one year's time, more than four times the normal. However, it wa
reported that judges were reluctant to enforce the laws because of questionable
constitutionality. It was learned that police in Atlanta pre-printed arrest
citations stating the following information: African-American, Male, Homeless.
This resulted in a lawsuit which force police to stop arresting people without
probable cause.
In Seoul, a facility was built 50 kilometers outside the city in the style
of a prison camp to house 1,000 homeless people, poor people and people with
addictions and mental illness.

Introduction
of special legislation to help facilitate preparations for the Olympics, including
measures to make it easier to take private property, to target homeless people,
to increase police power and restrict freedom of assembly.In Sydney,
two acts were passed that gave police power to remove people from public areas
the city wanted cleaned up for the Olympics. The laws also gave private security
guards special powers of enforcement. The legislation made it possible to
remove people from an area for indecent language or for causing "an annoyance
or inconvenience." They also made it illegal to collect money, sleep
overnight or use a skateboard or roller skates.

Discrimination
against marginalized groups. In Athens,
people of Romani ethnic origin were targeted for relocation. An estimated
2,700 Roma were adversely affected by the Olympics. Many were forcibly evicted.
Others who had lived for many years in destitute settlements were promised
relocation to better housing only to find the relocation plans abandoned because
they would be in sight of Olympic visitors.

How can these housing
impacts be avoided in future Olympic host cities?

Olympic host cities must
agree to follow the principles laid out in the Olympic Charter and the
Code of Ethics. The Olympic Charter is the overarching constitutional
instrument of the Olympics and it binds all persons and organizations involved
in the Olympics. Several of those principles are relevant to respecting housing
rights including "the promise to safeguard the dignity of the individual,
the obligation not to discriminate, the promotion of
sustainable development and of a positive legacy, and the commitment to fight
against poverty and exclusion." In addition, the human right to
housing is included in many sources of existing international human rights law
unrelated to the Olympics. ( See CCH policy paper, Is Housing a Human Right?http://www.chicagohomeless.org/files/Archive/factsfigures/humanright.pdf.)

If Olympic host cities
were to adhere truly to these principles, the described human rights violations
should not have happened. Communities impacted by the Olympics should work to
hold their cities accountable to these binding agreements.
The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions, an independent non-government, non-profit
housing rights organization, recommends the following for Olympic host cities:

Carry out an independent
Social Impact Assessment which incorporates a thorough examination
of housing impacts

Develop and implement
strategies to monitor and manage housing impacts

Develop temporary
and permanent relocation and adequate compensation programs for those
who will lose their homes

Confer legal
protection from eviction for those households that lack protection

Chicago Weekly, October
30, 2008. By Laura Mattison, Perspectives: Restraining Zeus- How a local ballot
initiative is attempting to control Mayor Daley's Olympian Actions

....One local issue concerns
Chicago's prospective hosting of the 2016 Olympics. Voters in certain precincts
in Wards 2, 3, 4, and 20 can encourage Mayor Daley and the Chicago 2016 Committee
to use part of any potential Olympic windfall to benefit Bronzeville residents.
The ballot initiative asks that at least 26% of the city's vacant lots in
Bronzeville be used for affordable housing for moderate-income residents.
Generally, "affordable" means residents are spending no more than
30% of their gross (before taxes) income on housing. Moderate-income residents
earn between 80% and 120% of Chicago's Median Income, targeting the middle
class.

The initiative is meant
to partially address a major fear many residents have about the prospect of
Chicago hosting the 2016 Olympics. Despite the economic and infrastructural
benefits Chicago might experience, many people worry that there could be negative
impacts on things like housing and transportation for moderate- and low-income
residents of South Side neighborhoods. Because the Olympic Stadium would bed
located in Washington Park, neighborhoods like Hyde Park and Bronzeville would
be especially affected by the 2016 Games. Although the proposed stadium would
be a temporary fixture, even that short term structure could have a long-term
impact. Groups like the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless believe that low-income
and vulnerable groups may be rolled over in the Olympic fever that often takes
over the chosen city.

While non expects the
degree of widespread evictions witnessed during the 2008 Beijing Olympics,
Chicago residents have valid fears that they may be priced out of their neighborhoods.
Other cities have faced this problem of displacement as the Olympics have
become a larger and larger event. In efforts to spread the benefits of the
2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Vancouver recently approved the
Olympic Legacy Affordable Housing project to create movable modular housing
units. The 320 temporary housing units will form part of the Olympic Village
and later be moved to other communities to become permanent affordable housing.
Hyde Park's Coalition for Equitable Community Development advocates a similar
measure to minimize the displacement of area residents by making a third of
the Olympic Village units into affordable housing after the "two-week-party"
is over.

The opportunities and
risks that the Olympics may bring to Chicago were discussed by Hyde Park resident
at a recent forum convened by the Coalition for Equitable Community Development
at Augustana Lutheran Church. the forum took place on October 18th, and was
cosponsored by several local organizations, including the Hyde Park-Kenwood
Community Conference and South Siders Organized for Unity and Liberation.
Residents spoke about their concerns to speakers, including the community
liaison for Chicago 2016 and two aldermen. With issue ranging from parking
to gentrification, area residents expressed hopes that a Chicago Olympics
could improve the city, and fears that they might not benefit from those improvements.

There are always huge
structural changes when a city hosts the Olympics. There may be urban revitalization,
as areas of the city are completely transformed by massive public works projects.
The boom in tourism and advertising infuses local businesses and large corporations
with huge amounts of money. When all these changes have taken place, a city
can find itself transformed. Often the biggest changes are seen in areas considered
"underutilized," throwing the lives of nearby already disadvantaged
people into further chaos. How can we make sure that these people are not
trampled in the ensuing Olympic madness? Is a non-binding resolution to recommend
some provisions for middle income housing anywhere near enough?

Cities are always changing.
Whether it is "white flight" or gentrification, a new influx of
immigrants or technological upheaval, American cities have witnessed waves
of change that each left their mark. If Chicago receives the mixed blessing
of the 2016 Olympics, no one can deny that there will be manor changes, in
both the economic and physical structure of the city. The government and Mayor
Daley must be careful to ensure that all benefit. A large public works project
like hosting the Games is no experiment in the free market. The city is responsible
for the changes it enacts, and it must recognize its obligations to assist
all people hurt by its Olympian efforts.

Wash.
Park armory could become sports facility

Herald, May 20, 2009.
By Kate Hawley.
Talks are in progress to turn the Illinois National guard armory in Washington
Park into a youth athletics facility after the 2016 Summer Olympics, according
to Arnold Randall, director of neighborhood legacy for Chicago 2016, the nonprofit
sponsoring the bid. "We are in discussions with the state of Illinois
about the [Chicago Park District coming into ownership of the armory after
the games," Randall said Saturday at a meeting in the Washington park
Refectory, 5531 [S. Russell] Drive.

"The talks are "in
very early stages and in very general terms," said Lt. Col. Randy Scott,
director of facilities and engineering for the Illinois Department of Military
Affairs. "There's been nothing agreed to at this point." If the
armory were to be moved out of teh ark, it would need to be replaced "within
the city of Chicago area," he said.

A Park District spokeswoman
confirmed that the agency has been in discussion with Chicago 2016 about acquiring
the armory. "It would be wonderful for us," said Jessica Faulkner.
"We already have the Broadway Armory on the North Side, and it would
give us [another] very large sports facility." Randall agreed that Washington
Park's Gen. Richard L. Jones Armory would be well suited for indoor track
and field, and other sports. Chicago's Olympic bid calls only for using the
armory as a staging area during the games.

...Chicago 2016 has begun
soliciting community input about what should be left behind in parks affected
by Olympic venues. The meeting Saturday was the second such discussion to
take place in Washington Park, where an 80,000-seat track-and-field stadium
and aquatics facilities would be built. Randall told the crowd of 50 of about
50 that the stadium would be dismantled, leaving behind a 2,500- to 3,500-seat
amphitheater. Its location within the park has still to be determined. One
of the Olympic pools would replace the existing pool at dyett High School,
located in the north end of the park at 555 E. 51st St., he said.

Other legacy improvements
under consideration by Chicago 2016 include upgrading the refectory building
and making it easier to cross 55th street, which bisects the park, Randall
said. Sinking the roadway below grade would accomplish that goal, but he called
it "a very expensive proposition." And Park District utility sheds
located along Cottage Grove Avenue between 57th and 59th streets could be
repurpose for public use, perhaps as horse stables, he said.

The effect of the Olympics
on the park has been of particular interest to parks and preservation advocates,
who have expressed concern that the historic landscape designed by Frederick
Law Olmsted would be irreparably harmed. At the meeting, Victoria Post Ranney,
a former Hyde Park resident and author of the 1972 book "Olmsted in Chicago,"
gave a presentation on the history of Washington Park. "Having the Olympics
here makes sense with Olmsted's vision," she said. Julia Bachrach, the
Park District historian, ran through many historic uses of the park -- from
horseback riding to ice cream making to boating.

After breakout sessions,
the meeting's attendees gave their input on the Olympic legacy for the park.
Their wide-ranging suggestions included making sure money is set aside for
ongoing stewardship of the facilities left over after the games, expanding
youth activities, adding arts programming and improving Dyett High School
or moving it out of the park altogether. Rudy Nimocks, the former University
of Chicago police chief who was recently named director of community partnerships,
suggested reinstating the Chicago Park District Police.

Randall said Chicago
2016 wil incorporate these ideas into a series of recommendations to be presented
at a third community meeting, to be held at a time still to be determined.
He stressed that the presentation will include "only concepts,"
not concrete plans.

A
new plan for Washington Park: Garfield Blvd. tapped for transit-oriented development.

Herald, June 24, 2009.
By Kate Hawley

Residents and stakeholders
of Washington Park, Hyde Parks' neighbor to the west, have produced a road
map for how they want their community to develop -- an increasingly charged
topic given how powerfully a Chicago Olympics could reshape the area and the
University of Chicago's recent historic investments into the neighborhood.

Beginning in March last
year, more than 200 people representing a broad swath of local institutions
met over a nine-month period with ald. Willie cochran (20th) to draft a quality-of-life
pan for the neighborhood. Titled "Historic, Vibrant, Proud and Healthy,"
it was developed as part of the Local Initiatives support Corporation of Chicago,
or LISC/Chicago, which is behind similar plans in 16 city neighborhoods.

The plan envisions Washington
Park's vacant lost filled in with new housing affordable for a range of income
levels, its historic buildings rehabbed, its youth engaged in constructive
activities and its adults able to find decent jobs. Health care and support
for senior citizens are also among the plan's 10 strategy points.

These are ambitious goals
for Washington Park, which has struggled due to disinvestment over the last
half-century. for example, the U.S. Census projected it 2005 population at
13,000, down from 57,000 in 1950.

But seismic changes are
on the horizon for the neighborhood if Chicago wins its bid to host the 2016
Summer Olympics, not least because track, field and swimming would take place
inits eponymous 372-acre park. Some say the ground has already begun to shift
with a series of land purchases along Garfield Boulevard by the University
of Chicago.

"Neighborhood stakeholders
consider the Olympic bid and the University of Chicago land purchases as both
opportunities and threats," the plan's authors wrote. "While they
may bring new investment and trigger implementation of projects in this plan,
they could also repeat urban-renewal mistakes of the past that displaced residents
or reshaped communities without the input of local residents." The authors
continue, "We intend to be full participants in decisions about our neighborhood's
future, and will use this plan to guide development."

Charts and drawings included
in teh 35-page planning document show the stretch of Garfield Boulevard from
teh Green Line station to the park -- where the university began negotiations
to acquire 15 parcels last year -- targeted for "transit-oriented development."
This type of development is generally mixed-use, dense and focused on generating
foot traffic.

Sonya Malunda, associate
vice president in the university's Office of Civic Engagement, participated
in the quality-of-life planning from the onset at Cochran's invitation. The
university will follow the community's lead when it comes to development in
Washington Park, much as it did during recent planning efforts in Woodlawn
and the Quad Communities area, she said. "Our role has been that of a
junior partner."

A thriving Washington
Park would benefit Hyde Park's retail environment and give university students
and other Hyde Park residents better access to Washington Park's Green Line
stations and the Dan Ryan Expressway, she added.

Developing Garfield Boulevard,
though critical to Washington Parks' retail environment, is just a small part
of the overall plan, which includes 59 separate recommendations. To put them
into practice, the steering company of local stakeholders created a nonprofit
called the Washington Park Consortium. Backed by a seed grant of about $200,000
from LISC/Chicago, the consortium began operations in May, according to its
executive director Brandon Johnson. Collaborations with other local groups
have produce a series of initiatives.

According tot he report,
the South Side Federal Credit Union has begun offering checking accounts and
has expanded its foreclosure counseling, The Life Center Church of God in
Christ has launched new youth programs at its K.L.E.O. Family Life Center
and th Washington Park Advisory Council has installed new furniture adn equipment
in its computer technology center and offered a sports day camp.

Johnson said he hopes
to gain the community's trust by kicking these smaller programs into gear
right away. "There's a lot of skepticism in communities across Chicago,
and Washington Park is not an exception, about plans actually being fulfilled,"
he said.

He expressed confidence
that the consortium is on the right path. "We've got everybody at the
table", he said. Top